Tis the season
by MCmondo
Summary: A series of unrelated one-shots focused on our favourite duo around Christmas time. T/Z
1. Chapter 1

**Setting: season 4**

* * *

There was something about the snow that had Ziva transfixed. She had seen snow before, of course. Her old job involved travelling to countries with all sorts of climates. Her younger self had hiked through and fought in the snow numerous times. Hell, she can even remember a mission-gone-wrong in Russia where she'd actually been stabbed in the arm while a blizzard had just hit. So, it wasn't necessarily the snow itself that had her frozen to the spot.

It was the _calm _it brought.

The Navy Yard was ordinarily full of chaotic life, with agents and lawyers and sailors moving around the area at all hours, and always with the apparent urgency that came with a working day. In her experience at NCIS so far—limited though it may be—Ziva had found it to be extremely rare that the grounds outside their building were completely clear. Not a soul in sight, just a crisp layer of white covering the grass and trees as fresh flakes danced their way towards the ground from above. It made everything seem to so neat. So peaceful.

Her NCIS adventure was over a year old now, but she thinks this might be the first time she fell in love with America.

Ziva had no idea how long she had been standing there, and she supposed her colleagues wouldn't be so happy about how distracted she'd become from her coffee run, but the peace and quiet she was wallowing in made it hard for her to care. It was only the sound of his footsteps that brought her back to reality. She wondered when it was exactly that the sound of her partner's footsteps alone became as recognisable as his face.

Tony had been in a foul mood all day. She suspected that it had something to do with Gibbs, as the two men had been having 'creative' differences—as McGee had put it—regarding how to solve their current case. Ziva knew that Tony was still adapting to not being the team leader anymore, even all these months later, and sometimes his frustration was clear as day. It was like a cloud over his head and sometimes resulted in him being completely insufferable. His bad moods had a habit of sneaking up on her and leaving her feeling slight whiplash. This usually resulted in an argument between the two of them that would have McGee squirming and Gibbs head-slapping. Perhaps that was another reason Ziva didn't want to leave this spot. Tony had been in a bad mood when he sent her to get coffee earlier, and this little snowy bubble she'd found herself in gave her a nice break from that.

She barely turned her head as he approached, bracing herself for more verbal sparring. ''It's freezing out here,'' Tony stated—surprisingly gently—as he stepped up beside Ziva, bumping her shoulder with his. Her eyes remained focused on the scenery, but she could see his frosted breath float off into the wind. ''What are you looking at?''

The peace was officially broken, ''The snow,'' she replied on a sigh.

''Ah,'' he looked up at the sky as he rubbed his hands together, ''it's awful, isn't it?''

''I like it.''

He gave her a strange look, as if she had just said something crazy. ''Yeah? You know what I like? Coffee''

She chose to ignore that, ''It is…peaceful.''

That caused him to look at the little portion of winter wonderland she'd been focusing on. ''I suppose our little desert flower hasn't seen enough snow to be pissed off by it yet.''

His choice of words finally gave her enough motivation to turn her head and look up at him. ''This _desert flower _could kill you several times over with an icicle,'' she reminded him.

The empty threat earned her a wince. ''Beats freezing to death. I'm cold. Aren't you cold?''

Ziva hadn't really noticed it before then, but yes, she was shivering pretty vigorously by this point. ''How long have I been out here?''

''I was about to ask you the same thing.''

Her eyes narrowed slightly in consideration. ''I am not sure. I just wanted some time away from all the...'' She snapped her fingers as she tried to think of how to phrase it in English.

''Dick-measuring?'' Tony offered up with a small smirk.

That was not what she was expecting, and something about her resulting frown seemed to amuse Tony. ''What exactly have you boys been up to since I left?''

Eventually, his smile fell. ''It's an expression, Ziva.''

''Only in America could there be an expression about measuring your…'' she trailed off in favour of scrunching her nose in disgust and gesturing in the vague direction of his crotch, ''manhood.''

Tony seemed to subconsciously shield said area from her slightly. ''It's not literal.''

She scoffed, looked him up and down, and turned back towards the snow. ''With you, I would not be so sure.''

From the corner of her eye, she could she the bitchy smile he shot her. ''Very funny, but I can promise you I don't need any reassurance in that department.''

That triggered a few memories Ziva had locked away from the previous summer. With a hum, she turned back to him and took a step closer, leaning up towards his face. ''I am well aware of that, Tony.''

Something in his expression shifted, and she could see his eyes turn dark with what she could only assume was want. It was only for a split-second, barely noticeable. But the look was gone as quickly as it came, showcasing his unwillingness to play with her on this occasion. In fact, he had become increasingly well-behaved of late. Or was it just disinterested? She tried her best to ignore the pang of hurt she felt at that.

Tony pointedly cleared his throat, before stepping away ever so slightly and reaching over to grab her hand, ''You _are_ cold,'' he murmured then, fingers running over her knuckles, as if uncovering a deep, dark secret of hers. Her numb hand told her he was right, and a small fraction of her thoughts drifted to the pair of gloves she'd left in her desk drawer. The feeling of her hand thawing under his touch, as well as the fact her heartbeat had betrayed her by increasing suddenly, caused Ziva to snatch her hand away with more force than was probably necessary.

''Have you and Gibbs resolved your lover's quarrel yet?''

It was unclear whether or not her imagination was playing tricks on her, but Ziva was sure his gaze darted to her lips and back. ''We haven't said a word to each other for about half an hour now,'' he answered eventually, ''In the Gibbs-verse that is pretty much as good as it gets.''

They shared a knowing look. She couldn't help but agree with that. ''I can work with that.''

He nodded. ''And what about us?''

That caused her heart to slam again, and she couldn't help but feel like the sudden trepidation she'd released into the air around them could be cut with a knife. Tony's tone was innocent enough, but she once again felt herself being brought back to the summer. The two of them in her apartment, her kitchen, her bedroom. They had never mentioned it in any of the months that followed, but they couldn't deny it happened. And more than once.

Ziva frowned at him. ''What do you mean?''

''Are we still fighting?''

She almost collapsed in relief but managed to successfully maintain her neutral expression. ''If we were fighting, you would be face down in the snow.''

He tilted his head, seemingly agreeing with that outcome, before breathing some warmth into his conjoined hands. ''I meant arguing,'' he clarified.

''I know what you meant.''

His expression softened to an extent that Ziva had only seen a handful of times. ''If you're willing to stand out here and freeze yourself to death to get away from me, then I must be doing something wrong.''

She let out a heavy sigh. ''I was not trying to get away from you, Tony,'' she looked up at the sky again and couldn't help but smile, ''I was just enjoying the quiet.'' She smirked after another violent shiver ran through her. ''Even if it my freezes my butt off.''

Tony nodded as they both stared out over the grounds. ''It would be a shame for that to happen to something so pretty.'' To her great disappointment, he barely even grunted when she thumped his shoulder. They both smiled, though, as he rubbed his hands together again. ''OK. As much as I love standing in the snow and talking about your butt, I think I'm going to try and navigate my way through this snowstorm to the coffee shop.''

She looked back at him with a smirk, ''Sounds dangerous.''

He raised an eyebrow, ''Oh, you have no idea, Miss David. The last person I sent out on this mission never came back.''

Ziva found herself chuckling, ''Is Gibbs expecting us back anytime soon?''

Tony shook his head, ''He hasn't called.''

''In that case, you can get the coffee and I can get the sandwiches.''

This time, both his eyebrows raised, ''You're joining me on my Arctic expedition?''

She shrugged, ''It is Christmas, yes? The time of year when you buy each other crap?''

''I've never heard it put so eloquently before, but yes. And I never say no to sandwich.''

''I have noticed.''

He took it in good humour, ''Lead the way then, Wonder Woman.''

As Ziva went to do just that, she found herself losing her footing within her first two steps. Luckily, Tony was quickly at her side to steady her. ''Woah there!'' he exclaimed as he helped straighten her up, ''Are you new to this walking thing?''

She hit his shoulder, ''My feet are numb, DiNozzo.''

''Well luckily you've got a big, strong man to help you.''

''My hero,'' she drawled, ''You can let go of me now.''

Tony did just that, with a smirk she was half-tempted to smack off his face, but that mostly made her feel something unfamiliar in her gut. Or—perhaps more accurately—it was actually a familiar feeling, but one she still couldn't let herself directly admit was a result of Tony's company. Because, even though he drove her crazy a lot of the time, there was something about him that made her feel comfortable. If she was being completely honest, he made her happy. When they weren't fighting, that is. Not that she'd ever admit that to him.

And so, as she walked through the snow, Tony at her side, she ignored the part of her- the one she kept buried deep down- that kept reminding her that the snow wasn't the only reason she liked being in America.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed. I will post more Christmas/ winter related one shots as and when they pop into my head**


	2. Chapter 2

**Setting: AU season 11/12**

* * *

His chest ached. So did his head, for that matter. And his back. Honestly, Tony was struggling to think of any part of his body that was comfortable. He supposed he could make an argument for his butt being ok, but he suspected that it was simply numb from being in bed all day. Being _still _in bed all day. Not one of those awesome days in bed where he'd have a female for company and spend considerably less time being stationary. God, he hated hospitals.

Wait a second, what the hell was he doing in hospital?

He looked at the female currently in his company and—as per usual—she had a calming effect on him simply by being there. Ziva may not have been in his bed with him, but he was grateful for her all the same. There she was, sitting in the chair by his bed, book in hand and with her hair all messy and wild. Tony loved her hair like that. He wasn't sure if he'd ever told her that, but before he could dwell on that any further she felt his eyes on her and looked up from her book, getting to her feet as he tried to sit up. When he tried to speak his mouth felt stuck together.

''Hey,'' she said firmly as she grabbed the cup of water lying a foot away from him, ''stay still.''

Tony only felt a little bit embarrassed as she held the back of his head gently and helped tilt the cup of water into in his mouth. The feeling of his mouth and throat no longer being bone-dry overpowered any indignities he was experiencing though. Ziva helped him adjust himself after lying down again, and he couldn't help but frown at the stony expression on her face. Had he done something wrong?

''Ziva,'' he rasped.

Nothing else could leave his mouth before she placed a finger on his lips to shut him up. And that was when he saw her for the first time. _Really _saw her. The erratic shifting of her eyes told him she was freaking out, and the bags under them told him she was exhausted. Her messy hair matched up with the rest of her, and he felt guilty about wondering when the last time she slept was. He was fairly certain he'd never seen her like this before, and all he wanted to do was help her. But when he reached for her a huge slice of pain shot through him.

Ziva looked terrified and concerned and sympathetic and relieved and a million other things when her eyes finally settled on his. And that was when he could see the tears forming, ''Tony,'' his name was barely a whisper on her lips, ''how are you feeling?''

He was too focused on her to measure how much pain he was in, ''Not sure,'' he settled on.

''That's ok,'' she nodded, ''It is good to see you awake.''

Tony had no idea why he was out in the first place, ''How—'' he grunted as his shoulder began to throb, ''What—''

He didn't need to finish either of his questions for Ziva to know what they were. She closed her eyes with a heavy sigh, ''You were shot, Tony,'' she squeezed the words out as if saying them physically hurt her, ''Twice. You have been here for four days.''

All of a sudden, the pain he was feeling all over his body was sent to his heart as he felt an immeasurable wave of sympathy for her. This must have been hell for her. He was at a loss for words, and wasn't sure what he could even say about it at that point. He just gave her a soft look of understanding that seemed to make her tear up even more. He'd been shot at least once before in his career, and had been hospitalised countless times, but it was so different now. Nowadays if it went wrong he'd be leaving someone behind.

Ziva's expression was causing him more pain than any bullets ever could. She was looking down at him as she ran her hand over his arm with a feather-light touch. ''Hey,'' he said, regaining her attention, ''I'm ok.''

Her lip quivered slightly, and Tony wasn't sure he'd ever get used to seeing her being openly vulnerable, even after months of being together. But this wasn't his partner anymore, this was his _partner_. She leaned down to kiss him then, resting her forehead against his while her shaky hand came to his cheek. This was it. This was his reason to keep fighting.

''I should have been there,'' she whispered.

''You're here now.''

She pulled back, shaking her head, ''Bishop and McGee clearly aren't watching your back closely enough.''

He couldn't help but smile at how _Ziva _she was, ''They're fine. They'll never be you, but this isn't their fault.''

''If I was there—''

''You can't be anymore,'' he reminded her, only feeling a little bit guilty at the look of hurt on her face, ''Ziva, you chose this.''

After a few moments she seemed to accept his words, ''I know.''

He ran his thumb over her hand, ''What day is it?''

That forced the first smile he'd seen on her face that day, and it gave him a new lease of life, ''It is Christmas.''

''I know it's Christmas,'' he insisted, ''My memory hasn't been completely wiped.''

That earned him an even wider, more teary smile, ''It is Christmas day, Tony.''

''Oh,'' he frowned, ''Huh.''

Ziva lifted his hand to kiss his knuckles, ''I'm afraid I left my present for you at home.''

The mere thought of presents seemed ridiculous to him. He'd just been given two new holes in his body and was most likely very close to death for at least two of the last four days. There's nothing like being shot at Christmas to help put things into perspective. Even so, he couldn't help but keep things as light as possible considering what Ziva had just gone through, ''Maybe I'll just have to unwrap you instead.''

He didn't get the laughter he was hoping for, but he couldn't really blame her, ''You may not be able to do that for a while.''

Tony's chest throbbed, ''You underestimate my recovery skills.''

Ziva wasn't in the mood for his banter, though, She instead elected to run her hand through his hair as her expression turned painfully serious, ''I was so scared, Tony,'' her voice cracked by the end of the statement, ''I thought I'd lost you.''

He again tried to put himself in her shoes. Hell, he'd been in her shoes before and it damn near killed him. ''I'm not going anywhere,'' he assured her.

Her lips were in his hair again. ''I don't think I could live without you,'' she murmured against him.

That forced a smile out of him, even as his eyelids grew heavy and pained. They fell closed after a momentary struggle to keep them open. ''I know that feeling.''

''I am sorry you have to be here at Christmas.''

If he was brutally honest, he only wanted to spend Christmas with her, regardless of location. He thought she deserved to know that, ''You're the only gift I need this year.''

She sniffed back more tears and placed another kiss on his cheek, ''You are so cheesy.''

Hey, look at that, he was smiling again. He'd ran out of the required energy needed to maintain a conversation, though. Ziva didn't seem to mind that he was drifting off again, and instead seemed perfectly content to rest her head by his as they quietly soaked up each other's presence. Sure, this wasn't the ideal way to spend Christmas day, but Tony was pretty sure he'd had worse. He was very glad he was still alive.


	3. Chapter 3

**Setting: AU season 11+**

* * *

Tony was so exhausted by the time he got home that he was pretty sure he'd actually dozed off in his car after he had put it in park. He couldn't be sure about this, though, and devoted very little thought to it as he dragged his feet along the sidewalk towards his building. The doorman's presumably friendly greeting was either ignored or simply responded to with an incoherent grunt. Again, Tony wasn't sure at this point. The soft ding of the elevator forced his eyes back open before he'd even realised they'd been shut in the first place, and it took an embarrassingly long time to remember what floor he lived on.

Wow, what a case.

Running off negligible amounts of sleep wasn't exactly uncommon in Tony's line of work. But the case Team Gibbs had just wrapped up seemed endless, and even the supreme leader himself was yawning heavily by the end of it. McGee was like a lifeless zombie when Tony left with him, and Bishop seemed to have slipped into a coma on the bullpen floor.

As he stepped off the elevator and stumbled his way down the corridor, Tony idly wondered how long it had been since he'd seen Ziva in person. It could only have been a day or two, but it somehow felt like weeks. It was going to take at least a day of solid sleep before he would be anything better than awful company, though, so he'd make sure to bring her out to dinner at the end of the week. He fumbled for his apartment keys and eventually stepped into the warmth of his home with a relieved sigh. That journey was a lot harder than he'd expected. But then again, the apartment seemed a lot warmer and brighter than he'd expected as well. Was he imagining the soft glow that seemed to be emanating from his living room?

The fully decorated Christmas tree in the corner of said room answered his question.

He frowned at all the tinsel and golden lights. Was he in the right apartment? He was at least seventy percent sure that tree wasn't there the last time he'd been here. He also didn't recognise all the other decorations placed neatly around the room. It was the most Christmassy he'd ever seen his apartment. The smiling woman on his couch, however... Well, he'd recognise her anywhere.

''I wasn't sure you would be home tonight.''

Ziva's tone was as warm as the electric fireplace in its full glory, but Tony's frown remained in place as he looked down at her, his finger pointed at the tree. ''Where did this come from?''

She glanced at it for a second and took what looked like a nervous sip of her wine. ''You don't like it?''

Tony took that into consideration for a moment as he stared at the star that sat at the very top of the tree. He definitely didn't hate it, and it was the first time the sight of a Christmas tree filled him with anything but mild irritation since… well, he couldn't actually remember the last time he'd genuinely enjoyed it. He suspected he used to love all this festivity when he was a child, and when his mom was still alive. There was something about the way his mother put so much love and care and magic into everything that always kept his younger self in a gleeful state for the whole holiday season.

''If you don't like it, we can take it down,'' Ziva said softly, effectively breaking him out of his exhausted nostalgia trip. ''I just wanted to make this place a bit more..'' Tony looked back to her as he shook off his coat and found himself smiling at the way she tried to think of the right word. Somewhere along the line, he'd fallen in love with the way she translated her confusion into hand gestures.

''Festive?''

''Yes,'' she confirmed with an enthusiastic click of her fingers. ''Festive.''

Tony chucked his coat and jacket onto arm of the couch and leaned down to give her kiss in greeting. He was immensely proud of himself that his tired limbs didn't give way and force him to collapse on top of her. ''Hi,'' he murmured, enjoying the taste of Italian red wine and Ziva. Always a winning combination in his eyes.

''Hello,'' she returned with a soft sigh, running her hand through his hair gently, he closed his eyes at the comforting sensation. ''You are exhausted.''

''Hmm,'' was all he could manage.

Ziva's fingers kept caressing his temple. Back and forth, back and forth. Eventually Tony found himself sat with her on the cushions. He could hear the wine glass being placed down on the coffee table as his head hit the back of couch. Ziva's head found his chest. Despite the sleep deprivation, all was ok in the world right then. Long cases were always going to be worth it if he came home to this. Ziva always made him feel better, and she'd clearly put as much love and care into this as his mother used to.

''Abby and I got the tree,'' Ziva told him quietly after a few moments of comfortable silence. ''She insisted on going to this place outside of the city where you cut it down yourself.''

Tony smiled up at the ceiling. ''Did you karate chop it down?''

Ziva's soft chuckle made his stomach flutter, as it almost always did these days. ''Abby is actually very handy with a saw.''

That forced a laugh out of him this time. ''That honestly doesn't surprise me.''

''I just wanted to try and make Christmas a special time for you again.'' To most people, Ziva's tone would have sounded completely normal. But to Tony's trained ears the tentative nature of her words was plain and clear. Even her hand—previously running over his chest in a comforting pattern—had stilled. ''That was why I surprised you with all this.''

He re-opened his eyes and looked down at her. ''I like it, Ziva,'' he assured her.

She lifted her face off his chest and met his eyes. ''You do?''

''Yeah,'' he insisted sincerely whilst releasing a long yawn. ''This might be the first time this place has really felt like a home.''

Ziva's smile melted him slightly. He wasn't sure he'd ever get used to that look of open affection. ''Senior said you always loved Christmas as a child. I know it will never be the same, but— ''

''—It looks great. Seriously.''

Her relief was palpable. ''Good.''

After a quick glance back to the tree, Tony gazed down at Ziva's face as she stared ahead with a small smile. He wasn't lying when he said this was the first time this apartment had really felt like a home to him. But the truth was that it wasn't down to the Christmas decorations. Whenever he came home and Ziva was waiting for him, he got the same feeling. She could be cooking him dinner or simply sleeping in his bed waiting for him. Whatever the situation was, he'd never felt more at home these days than when he was in her presence.

He thought she deserved to know that. ''You're amazing, you know that?''

Her smile fell for a moment as her eyes returned to his. ''Abby helped with the decorating.''

''That's not what I meant.''

Ziva's gaze softened significantly, telling him that she appreciated the words. ''Did you close the case?''

He nodded. ''Yes. I might need to self-induce a coma for the next few days though.''

''Don't stay up on my account.''

''But I'm worried that…'' another heavy yawn escaped him, ''…if I leave you on your own again that a Santa's Grotto might pop up in my kitchen.''

That earned him a scoff. ''I promise that I will consult you on any Christmas-related decorating from now on.''

He found himself smiling again just before he gave her another kiss. His eyes closed and his head fell back again afterwards. ''I owe you dinner.''

Even without seeing it, he could tell Ziva was frowning up at him. ''You are too tired to cook.''

''Not now. I'm going to take you out,'' he clarified. ''Somewhere fancy.''

''Why?''

Tony simply shrugged, feeling himself slip off into dreamland. ''Because I love you.''

''Oh,'' she responded, leaning up to place a soft kiss to his cheek. ''You are OK too, I suppose.''

''Ouch.''

Ziva's hand on his chest sought to sooth her words. ''I was worried you would be angry with me.''

He frowned but couldn't quite bring himself to open his eyes. ''About the tree? Don't be ridiculous.''

''Not just that,'' she carried on softly. ''I know this is your space, and that you don't like people being in it without you. I understand as well as anyone that you need a sanctuary in your line of work. Somewhere you can relax and enjoy some peace.''

That was what caused him to fight off the sleep and open his eyes again. Because she had it so very, very wrong. ''This is _our_ space, Ziva,'' he reassured her. ''I thought I made that clear when I gave you a key.''

''I know,'' she insisted, despite her expression suggesting she wasn't convinced. He wished she would stop doubting herself so much. ''I just do not want to overstay my welcome.''

He shook his head before she'd even finished. ''That's not even possible. I mean it. Hell, I hate it when you're not here. You can put a tree in every room if it means I get to come home to you every day.'' Tony had more to say on the subject, but then he was slapped in the face by a sudden realisation. He really did love Ziva being here all the time, and whenever she went back to her place he missed her like crazy. So, the next thing he said to her was blurted out without any hesitation or second thoughts. ''Move in with me.''

Ziva was clearly taken aback for a moment, and he wondered if maybe he should have been a little more romantic about it, but then she gave the idea about five seconds of consideration and it seemed to make as much sense to her as it did to Tony. He could see her answer written on her face, even before she vocalised it in the most blasé, Ziva manner, ''OK.''

The news delighted him, and this was honestly the best Christmas present he could possibly have wished for, but he was far too tired to do anything more than smile and shrug as he rested his head again. This time it was against the cushions as he shuffled further down on the couch. ''See? This is your home now,'' his eyelids felt cemented shut this time. ''You never have to worry about overstaying your welcome.''

With that, she snuggled into his chest with a contented sigh. ''Home is with you.''

Suddenly, Christmas was indeed feeling special again.

* * *

**Mush overload, I know**


End file.
